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7

Sustainable Outdoor Innovations to Look Forward to

  • October 11, 2019

From climbing harnesses to swimsuits: in all areas of outdoor sports, manufacturers are currently striving to make their products more sustainable. We took a look around at OutDoor by ISPO and picked out seven exciting product innovations that show what is possible in terms of sustainability - and some of them are already available today.


1

Swimwear by prAna - Quality Made from Ocean Waste

Hemp in clothing, waste in swimwear: The Californian brand prAna not only focuses on sustainable climbing and yoga clothing made from organic cotton and hemp. In the new swimwear collection prAna also does not use polyester or nylon. Instead, the recycled fiber Econyl is used: The nylon yarn is obtained from waste such as fishing nets, fabric remnants, old carpets or industrial plastics from oceans and can be recycled again and again.

Price: not yet available

Available: Summer 2020

Find the product here

2

Nature Dye Drayden Short Sleeve Pocket Crewe by Icebreaker

Ever heard of the galla apple, the cherry plum or the leaves of the woad? No? Then it's about time: because in the Nature Dye collection Icebreaker dyes its fabrics with the pigments of these plants. The traditional dyeing method uses 80 percent less water per garment than conventional synthetic dyeing methods. The color in the fabric is bound by natural, pollutant-free fixing agents. Four colors in pastel shades are possible with natural pigments.

Price: 89,95 EUR

Available: Spring/Summer 2020

Find the product here

3

Sendero & Autana from Edelrid: Down to the Last Detail

Our garments are made from GOTS certified organic cotton, natural Tencel fibre, recycled polyester or other sustainable certified materials. But what has long since become the standard for textiles is not so common for hardware. All the better that there are manufacturers who do not allow any exceptions: The Sendero (315 g) and Autana (317 g) are two of a total of nine completely bluesign-certified climbing harnesses from Edelrid.

The belts are not only light and comfortable, but each of the more than 35 individual parts used has been manufactured under the strict requirements of the bluesign system. The environmental standard checks the entire supply chain to ensure that only clean materials and certified chemicals are processed resource-efficiently.

Price: 80 EUR each

Available: Spring 2020

Find the product here

4

Hemp Socks from Royal Robbins

Royal Robbins and Hemp - whoever thinks of Yosemite, joints and the 60s only knows half the story: The clothing company of the same name, founded by the climbing pioneer who died in 2017, presented a series of innovative travel socks at OutDoor by ISPO.

All models consist of 40 percent recycled polyester, 5 percent yak hair, 4 percent spandex - and 51 percent hemp. It is not only robust, absorbent and odor-inhibiting, but also uncomplicated and less "thirsty" in cultivation. Hemp also has deep roots, which prevents soil erosion.

Price: from 14,95 EUR (low cut) to 25,95 EUR (knee sock)

Available from: Spring 2020

Find the product here

5

Outrun RB9X by Icebug: Smaller Footprint

The latest trend in biobased raw materials are algae. As foam it is used for example in the midsole of the Outrun RB9X trail running shoe from Icebug. Because Icebug has also set high goals for the rest of the shoe - sole and uppers are made of recycled polyester or rubber, dyed with the resource-saving SolutionDye process, large parts of the shoe are bluesign-certified - the Outrun was awarded at Outstanding Outdoor.

Price: 139 EUR

Available from: February 2020

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6

Nature Collection by Light my Fire - Natural Ingredients

A balanced diet with fresh and natural ingredients is not only on the menu of almost all outdoor enthusiasts at home, but also on the go. So it would be nice not to have to handle the plastic cup and the disposable plate in front of the tent in the evening. The Swedish company Light my Fire has converted its entire camping tableware to bio-based materials in 2019. The Nature Collection is made from wood fibers, sugar cane and maize starch (from genetically unmodified EU maize) and is of course free of BPA. Bon appetit!

Price: e.g. the 8-piece Mealkit Bio with bowls, cutlery and cutting board for 34,99 EUR

Available: immediately

7

Earthrise-Collection by Mountain Equipment

As a heat insulator, down has outstanding properties that cannot (yet) be achieved with synthetic materials. It would therefore be all the more desirable that down that has already been won does not end up in the garbage after the death of a sleeping bag or jacket. The French company Re:Down professionally prepares old down (e.g. from duvets and pillows).

Mountain Equipment uses this recycled down in its Earthrise collection and wants to ensure in the future with a closed cycle (DownCycle) that only correctly and fairly won down is used again. The youth of the German Alpine Club DAV are currently collecting down products that have been discarded all over Germany in order to boost the project.

Price: e.g. down sleeping bag Earthrise 400; for 339,90 EUR

Available: immediately

Find the product here